Amethyst's Side of the Story
by Amethyst Star1
Summary: Amethyst Star, a former Hogwarts student meets Harry Potter and is later asked by Dumbledore to come back and take care of someone that Harry never knew existed...
1. Chapter 1

Amethyst's Side of the Story:  
  
Amethyst Meets Harry  
  
What was I doing on Diagon Alley, I can't quite seem to recall. All I know is--oh, that's right! I'd just heard from someone that a new book was in at Flourish and Blotts. It was a new volume from the Hospital for the care of Magical Maladies and I was curious if it might provide an insight into how I could cure myself of this nusance of an ability that I have. I don't suppose it's too bad but oh well. Back to my story.  
  
I was acually in Knockturn Alley at Bogins and Burkes to see if they had anything seince I'd been too scared to look there before. So anyway, I was walking out of Knockturn Alley and I saw Harry go into Flourish and Blotts, which I found conveneient since I hadn't gone there yeat. So I go in there and as I'm looking around I "accidentally" bump into Harry and knock his books down. As I bend down to help him, I smile and apologize. I didn't stare at him or his scar or gawk or start speaking oudly or excited because the truth of the matter was that I didn't really know about him that much. I could never afford to buy a newspaper and all I knew was from discared newspapers and gossip, so I wasn't too clued in.  
  
But anyways, he looked up at me and then as she stood up,he thanked me. Out of curiosity, I asked him what his name was. He seemed somewhat surprised that I wouldn't recognize him, but he told me that he was Harry Potter. I went, "Oh," as if I recalled his picture or something and smiled. It seemed as if he was used to a certain reaction from people and didn't get it from me so it was interesting to watch him. After a few seconds he asked my name. I automatically told him that my name was Amethyst because that's what I was known by from other people. He nodded and told me that it was a nice name and I told him that it wasn't my real name, but how I got that name.  
  
"About a year ago," I said, "I was seen playing with this purple rock, making it appear and disappear and balancing it on vacious things. Someone saw me and they knew that the rock was actually an amethyst and they asked for my name and since I wouldn't tell anyone, the name 'Amethyst' just stuck."  
  
I smiled again and Harry said, "Cool....How old are you?"  
  
"I'm 18 years old," I replied.  
  
"Where do you go to school, then?"  
  
I paused before I said, "I don't go to school anymore."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"Well," I said, a bit unsure about what to say. "I wouldn't really feel comfortable telling you here. It's not an entirely public thing to say." He nodded and said okay. "I could show you why, if you wanted," I said, unsure of what he'd think.  
  
"Um...alright," he replied. "Just a minute."  
  
He found the other books he needed and I decided to look for that other book at a later time. Well, after we walked out, I asked him to follow me around the back of the shop. he did and when we stood there, I reached my hand towards Harry's head. He stepped back and then I recalled something. "Darn it!" I said.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"I didn't know I'd be showing anyone this so I didn't bother to bring my invisibility cloak! Argh!"  
  
"Well," he mentioned, "you could borrow mine for a little while."  
  
I smiled and he acted kind of unsure, but I wouldn't blame him. I reached my hand towards his hair, but when he pulled back I pulled my hand back a little. When he finally stopped moving, I took one of his hairs and raised it to my eyes. I tried to rub stuff off of it while I said, "This is just unsanitary." He laughed but cringed when I put it in my mouth.  
  
I tried to stand still as I felt my blood start to churn. Slowly, I began to feel myself becoming shorter and my clothes becoming increasingly looser. I felt my hands change and my shoulders growing slightly broader. My hair grew shorter, spontaneous, and black. About a minute later, I was a near-perfect replica of Harry.  
  
Harry looked at me in wide-eyed astonishment as he noticed my transformation take place. "How'd you do that?"  
  
"It's kind of a long story," I replied, my voice a little higher and man- like.  
  
Harry laughed slightly. "I'm used to those," he said.  
  
I smiled and started to tell him about what had happened to me just a few years ago. he became rather interested when he found out that I went to Hogwarts. I went on to tell him how long I was there and how Professor Argus went to into a rage and hit me with a bottle of pure polyjuice potion. Then I talked abouthow I would wake up changed and how other people were terrified and I was expelled. He narrowed his face when I told of how a scared Slytherin took my wand and burned it to ashes, rendering me all but spell-less.  
  
When I finished, he asked me how long I could stay as one person. I told him that it depended on how long I kept the hair in my mouth. Then I realized that I still had his in my mouth and pulled it out. "Darn! I'd say that I'll be stuck as you for a good 2 hours or so tonight!"  
  
"So is that why you wanted the invisibility cloak?"  
  
"Yes. It would probably look kind of strange if there were two Harry Potters walking around Diagon Alley." After a moment I asked him, "So do you have your invisibility cloak?"  
  
"Not with me."  
  
I thought for a moment before I thought of a spell I hadn't used for a long time. "I wouldn't trust myself doing it, but have you learned the Accio spell?"  
  
Harry smiled and pulled out his wand. "Yes I have."  
  
Just for fun I reached into my pocket, but I was surprised to find a wand in there; I left it in there just for fun, though. "Do you think...well, just to help me out."  
  
For a moment, Harry stood there, his wand slightly upraised. Then he said, "How do I know you can be trusted?"  
  
Being the devout Christian that I am, I gave the pledge I only made when I want people to honestly know that I am an honest person. "I swear by God in Heaven and everything holy that you can trust me not to harm out, lie to you, or steal from you on the threat of being stuck dead here and now."  
  
I didn't know, but I think that the emphasis I put into saying that allowed him to bedlive me. He raised his wand and said, "Accio Cloak!" Then after a minute or so, thje cloak flew into his hand. He did seem a little reluctant in giving it to me, though.  
  
"I've already got one," I said when he gave it to me. "Just-"  
  
At that point the owner of Flourish and Blotts walked out as I was putting the cloak on. I very quickly had to throw it over me when he came out. "Is everything alright?" he asked.  
  
Harry stood there. "Um...uh...yah. I was just...I gotta go." With that he staarted to walk off and I followed him as the shop keeper walked back inside with a puzzled look on his face. When I caught up to Harry, I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and, seeing nothing, asked me where to go.  
  
"I stay at the edge of town, near Rowels and Hobbs."  
  
"Where's that?" he asked.  
  
"Just keep following this road until you come to a green building. Then turn right and at the end of the street is Rowels and Hobbs. It's an...interesting looking cafe."  
  
Harry nodded and began to walk to where I stayed. When we got to Rowels and Hobbs I checked to see if anyone was around and seeing no one, I took off the invisibility cloak and placed it in Harry's bag that he held his books in. Then I thanked him and began to walk off.  
  
He then said, "Hey, just a minute!" I turned around, still looking around for anyone. "Do you want to meet sometime tomorrow possibly?"  
  
"How long are you going to be here?"  
  
"Actually, I'm staying with another family at the Leaky Cauldron and we have to leave for Hogewarts the day after tomorrow."  
  
"Alright then," I said with a smile. "But I'll find you." He said alright and I ran off to a spot on the ground where a trapped door was and opened it. I jumped down into this small space where all that there was was a conch shell. My parents had bought it for me for my 14th birthday from a shop on Knockturn Alley, but they had been looking for unusual things anyways.  
  
The reason I had to keep it hidden was that it was the place I lived. I bent down to touch it and when I did, I was instantaneously transported into it. Once inside, I felt around the salmon-pink walls and my hand found the small amethyst gem that I had placed in one; the same amethyst that I'd first been caught playing with. When I touched it, a bed and my bookshelf appeared. I looked behind the shelf and found my own invisibility cloak that my friends had given to me for a birthday. It was so wonderful considering that they hadn't gotten me anything for the previous birthdays I'd known them. But anyways...  
  
I felt odd with the body of Harry Potter, but then again, it was always a strange feeling when I transformed into that person. I then walked over to my bed and layed down, wrapping the cloak over me. Then I closed my eyes and started to sleep. When I did, I had a very wierd dream.  
  
I dreamed that I was next to the Whoming Willow back at Hogwarts. All of a sudden, this person with just blazing-red hair comes walking out of the woods. Then I saw them walk towards the castle in the direction of this vicious tree and then there's this frog or toad that jumps from out of nowhere. The next thing is this person gets hit and I thought for sure I saw Harry's face, but without the scar or his glasses. Then I woke up.  
  
I didn't really remember too much other than that. I woke up quite confused, wondering what would possess Harry Potter to go near the Whomping Willow without his glasses...and Harry didn't have red hair...I soon dismissed it as just another wierd dream. Maybe it was just because I turned into Harry; that was probably it.  
  
I walked out of bed and walked back over to the amethyst and placed my hand on it. At will, a dim light filled the room and a small dresser appeared. I went over and rumaged through the dresser. I picked out a dark blue robe and a thin white shirt and a pair of white pants. I pulled them on and before I touched the gem again, I grabbed a small bag on my bed and stuffed a few sickles in and my invisibility cloak. Then I turned the light out and willed myself out of the conch as I'd done many times before. When I was outside of the conch, I carefully bent my ear to the door of my hideout and listened to hear if anyone was above me. Normally only drunk or wierd people came around this part of town, but I had to be careful.  
  
When I was satasfied, I peeked out a little, barely lifting the door a crack. I didn't see anyone out there so I slipped out of the hold in the ground and walked quickly towards the main part of Diagon Alley. I walked down to the Leaky Cauldron, thinking that that was where Harry and the people he was staying with would be. I went up to the man who was serving the meals and asked if Harry Potter was staying there and he said yes. I asked what room he was in but the man wouldn't tell me. "Don' wan't no people gawkin' at 'Arry Pottuh. He prob'ly sick o' it!"  
  
"No, I'm a friend of his. I was hoping to have breakfast with him this morning."  
  
"Nope. Can' tell you. You can jus' wait 'till he comes down."  
  
I sighed, but I did feel the reasoning behind what he said. Harry probably wouldn't want people knocking on his door at all hours just to look at him and his scar. So I ordered something to drink and waited.  
  
I sat there for about 45 minutes or so, waiting. Twice more I went and ordered a new drink. I had plenty of time to think about the dream I had and tried to analyze the different parts to see if I could discoveri t's meaning. In the midst of another bout of spacing out, Harry came down with a boy his age with bright red hair. "Amethyst!" he said.  
  
"Hi there Harry!" I shot a look at the man whom I'd ordered my drinks from; he looked away. "Who's this?" I motioned to the boy he was with.  
  
"This is Ron Weasley. He's a good friend of mine from Hogwarts." Ron looked up at me while his freckled face formed a smile. I extended my hand and he shook it. "Ron, this is ther person I was telling you about last night." He nodded before he spoke.  
  
"So can you really-" he began before Harry nudged him in the ribs.  
  
I smiled a little. "Yah, but do no tell a soul! Not even your own family." Ron had a slightly mischevious face, but I knew he was kidding. "Alright, then. How about breakfast?" They both agreed and after we ordered our meals, Ron and Harry started asking some questions.  
  
"What was Hogwarts like when you went?" Ron inquired.  
  
I thought for a moment. "I would image that it hasn't changed much from the way it was several years ago. I mena, there were a couple different teachers. By the way, is Hagrid still the gameskeeper?"  
  
"Yah, he is!" Harry said. "Actually, he's now a teacher. He teaches the Care of Magical Creatures class. Both me and Ron are in it together."  
  
I laughed. Some people had asked Hagrid when I went to school if he ever thought about the job. Someone already had it so Hagrid always said no. But we all thought he wanted it. "How are his classes?"  
  
"Well," Harry said, "they're pretty cool most of the time."  
  
Then Ron cut in. "Yah. The usually range from as boring as can be to magnificent! We've dealt with hippogriffs, flobberworms, nifflers-"  
  
"- Blast-ended skrewts."  
  
"- Unicorns. It's varied depending on how his mood is and how much trouble he might be in."  
  
"Cool!" I said. "How's Dumbledore doing?"  
  
"He's getting older but he hasn't grown any weaker by one wit. Actually," Harry bent forward a little and lowered his voice, "this last school year, he saved me from a servant of Lord Vol-"  
  
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "Don't say that name!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "He saved me from a servant of You-Know-Who."  
  
I went wide with surprise when I heard that. I too leaned forward and whispered, "He's back? How?" Harry lowered his eyes. Obviously he'd been through an experience that he did not wish to relive. I then said, "If you don't want to talk about it right now then that's okay with me. I'm just so surprised! How many people know he's back?"  
  
"Not very many. All the students from Hogwarts most likely told their parents....Well, I'm not sure how fast something like that would spread so I don't really know how many people. It'll probablyy be even worse than it used to before You-Know-Who lost his power that first time."  
  
"I agree. But yah, how's Dumbledore handling it? He's probably as stressed about this coming year as he's ever been."  
  
"I would imagine!"  
  
Ron looked over at a clock on the wall. He turned to Harry and asked him, "Didn't Hermione say she'd meet us at Gringotts at 10 o'clock?"  
  
"Yah," Harry confirmed. Then he turned to me. "Do you want to meet Hermione? She's another good friend of ours."  
  
I remembered that since Harry was going back to Hogwarts the next day, other students would probably arrive here to pick up some last minute school supplies. "I can't, sorry. I just remembered that I needed to pick up a couple things this morning. I'd love to meet her, but I just don't have time."  
  
Harry looked slightly disappointed. "Alright. Well, I hope I see you before we leave."  
  
Ron spoke up. "Yah. Maybe we will see you someday again and I can see you..." he caught himself, "do that...thing...you do."  
  
"Yes," I replied. "I hope that we meet again. Would you believe that I knew next to nothing about Harry Potter before I met him?"  
  
Ron was surprised. He was about to say something but Harry stood up. "Write to me at Hogwarts. I'd love to hear from you!"  
  
I looked up at him. "I'll try, but since I don't have an own of my own I might not be able to write very often."  
  
Harry thought for a moment, but then he looked like he was going to say something, but changed what he was going to say and smiled. "See you, Amethyst."  
  
I smiled. "Bye, Harry. And it was good to meet you, Ron. Just remember what I said about not telling anyone!"  
  
"I know," he said. "See ya!"  
  
"Be careful!" I sat there in the cafe a few more minutes, wondering when I'd ever see Harry again. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
It was almost two days after Harry left when I received the owl. It was obviously not Hedwig, but rather a smaller one meant for great speeds, so I knew it wasn't a letter from him. The owl came swooping down Diagon Alley, straight up to me and landed on my shoulder. I took the letter off it's leg and gave it a couple knuts for it's trouble. Unsure who it was from, I sat down at the nearest spot I could and opened it.  
  
On the inside, it contained several sickles and a letter. As soon as I started reading the letter, I knew it was from someone I had gone to school with because they didn't call me Amethyst. I thought it was quite odd because no one had written to me in the years after I left.  
  
So I read the letter:  
  
Dear Shannon,  
  
I have been informed by Harry Potter that you are residing at Diagon Alley at this time. Due to pressing circumstances, I would appreciate it if you would return to Hogwarts for the remainder of the school year. I would like to explain the circumstances in person. I have arranged for a portkey to take you to the King's Cross train station and the remainder of the travel to Hogwarts. It will be a book called, "A History of Interesting Malidies: Volume VI" and will be behind Flourish and Blotts at 5:05am on Monday. Please be there before it leaves at 5:15. Thank you.  
  
Cordially, Porfessor Albus Dumbledore  
  
P.S. Please do not tell anyone.  
  
My eyes went wide when I saw Professor Dumbledore's signature on the letter. Of all the people I hadn't expected to hear from, it was him. The nature of the letter was also puzzling; what would one of the most powerful wizards known possibly need my help with? I guessed I'd just have to find out.  
  
Considering that it was about 3:00pm on that Sunday, I decided to see if I could get the money I'd earned from working at Rowel and Hobbs so I could buy myself a new set of robes, so as to make myself presentable to the Professor. I also figured that if I was going to be at Hogwarts for a while, I would have little use for a job there. I walked down to the restaurant, a place that people could, literally, mingle.  
  
Bracing myself, I opened the door and as soon as I stepped in, my body turned into a cloudy mist. I noticed other colored mists, some blue, some green, form people who'd come in wearing blue and green robes. I wore black and I always felt odd when I came in because I really couldn't feel much of anything. I quickly floated over to the bar and to the door that led to the back where my boss's office was. When I walked through that door, I turned back into myself and went straight up to my boss. "I'm quitting," I said, plain and simple. "I'd like my last 3 weeks pay, if you don't mind."  
  
He looked up from The Daily Prophet he was reading and glared at me. "You know the rules," he said in a gruff and stern voice. "Two weeks notice. Leave now and you get nothing."  
  
Not about to walk out without the money I needed, I placed my hands on his desk and leaned towards him. "Well, I'm kind of curious, to say the least," I said in an airy tone. "I wonder what the Ministry of Magic would say if I told them...your little secret." I noticed his eyes shift towards his left arm. Little did many know that there was a tatoo of a skull on his forearm that he'd received about fifteen years ago.  
  
He stared up at me with a venomous look. "You wouldn't be able to prove me guilty of anything."  
  
I smiled. "Not unless I was able to get them to look into that desk of yours." I smiled wider when he growled, reached into his desk and withdrew two galleons and a few sickles.  
  
"Get out, Amethyst," he growled. Then he went back to reading his paper.  
  
I decided to leave on the humorous terms so I grabbed the money, placed it in my pocket and said, "You know, if you're having trouble reading that, I heard muggle magazines are easier." He went wide-eyed with fury. "Read X- men; your breath stinks."  
  
I tried hard not to laugh as I quickly walked out of the door and out of the restaurant. I didn't want to be there when he blew up; I'd seen that before. I walked quickly down to the robe shop.  
  
When it was my turn, I told them that I wanted some custom-made robes for a business occasion. Considering the fact that I would not be paying for food and lodging, I was able to afford the robes of my choice. So I ordered a pair of amethyst-purple robes with streaks of blue running from the shoulders down the sleeves. I also got a silver tie to go around my waist. Then we made the transactions and I ended up giving him all of my earnings plus a little bit more.  
  
It took about 2 hours to take measurements, sew the robe and bag it up properly. It was about 5:30 now and I wondered what I should do until I went back to mon trou dans le terrain to sleep. I knew a little bit of French so I always found it fun to say that. I thought about going to my friends to tell them I was going to be leaving, but as I was walking I remembered what the letter said about not telling anyone. So I went to the Leaky Cauldron and ordered a drink.  
  
After I finished, I went outside and sat on a crate to watch people walk by. I considered myself proficient in human behavior, considering I'd had a good amount of time to watch others. After that I checked out the owls and rats and cats at the pet shop. I'd always enjoyed animals so it was somewhat fun.  
  
My amusement only lasted abouth alf an hour before I left that shop. Now it was about 6 o'clock and the sun had just begun to set. I thought about going to bed early so I could wake up easier. I'd never been much of a morning person so I was a little worried about whether or not I could wake up on time.  
  
I decided to go to bed early, anyways. I walked back to my hovel and did my usual check to make sure no one was there and I slipped down past the door. I entered the conch shell and reacned over towards teh amethyst and wrapped my hand around it. I made my bed appear and then I pulled the amethyst out of the wall. I brought it with me as I got into bed and as I lay down, I wove a spell to wake me up at about 4am. After I cast a second, I fell asleep.  
  
Just as I had planned, I woke up at 4am. I grudgingly lugged myself out of bed, still holding the amethyst in my hand. Then I made my dresser appear and on top if it was my new robe. I took it out of the wrapping and smiled at how nice it looked before taking off my night clothes, placing them in my dresser, putting on my white shirt and pants and placed the robe over my head. I placed the silver tie around my waist and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I was pleased at my appearance. Then I put my hair up in a braid, put on my shoes with time to spare, I picked up my amethyst again.  
  
Since I was traveling, I made my black carrying box appear. I looked inside and pulled out a little black pouch and after putting it around my neck, I picked up the box, made everything else vanish and then I willed myself out of the shell.  
  
When I stood outside of the shell, I opened the black box, placed the shell inside. I securely locked it before I took the gem, put it in the pouch I brought, put it about my neck and placed it under my robe. When that was done, I didn't bother to look around as I pushed up the door and crawled out into the still dark morning. Some strange people were walking into Rowel and Hobbs and as I walked towards Flourish and blotts, I asked one man who looked relatively sober what time it was. He said it was about five, so I picked up my pace to get there.  
  
Once I was there, I placed my hand over the spot on my chest where the amethyst was and cast a spell that would keep others from seeing me or the books. I hoped it wouldn't take long because it was a tiring and exhausting spell to keep going. Luckily, I saw very few people while I sat there, so I was in little danger of being spotted. Who knows what would have happened had someone seen me!  
  
As it neared 5:15, I greatly concentrated on keeping that spell going. Finally, I felt the portkey take hold and drag me mile after mile away from Diagon Alley, my hands clenched even tighter even though I couldn't let go anyways. It was about a 15 second ride before I came to rest at the King's Cross train station. Apparently Dumbledore made arrangements for me and I found a horseless-carriage waiting and a man standing next to it, motioning for me to get inside.  
  
Once inside, the man shut the door and the carriage set forward. I was able to peer out of the window at the passing scenery and smiled at all the greenery there was. I never saw many trees or flowers while I lived on Diagon Alley. There were few very prettyy plants sold at the apocathery, but very few of those were I interested in, due to some of the properties that they possessed.  
  
Anyways, it took between ten and fifteen minutes to get up to the castle's front door where I was greeted by a tall, somewhat stern lady who wore plain black robes. As soon as I grabbed my box and stepped out, she quickly ushered me into the castle. She led me up a couple flights of stairs and brought me directly to Head Master Dumbledore's office. She then knocked on the door and when she heard a soft voice from the inside say, "Come in," she opened the door. "Shannon Criswell to see you," she said.  
  
"Thank you Professor McGongall," he replied, rising from his chair. "Please show her in." Professor McGongall stepped aside and closed the door behind me when I entered. I looked over at Professor Dumbledore and he looked at me through his half-moon spectacles with a smile on his face. "Thank you for coming, Ms. Criswell." Then he looked at a large blck dog that sat in his room. "It's alright, Sirius. She used to be a student here....It's a long story."  
  
All of a sudden, instead of the large dog, a tall man with dark black hair stood at Dumbledore's desk. I remembered his face froma picture of him on the Daily Prophet and from what other people had said about him that I'd remembered. "Sirius Black?"  
  
"One in the same," he replied politely. Then he turned to Dumbledore. "Didn't Harry call her by another name?"  
  
"Amethyst," I said, "but there's a story that goes along with that, too. That's the name I've been using ever since I was...sent away from Hogwarts."  
  
Dumbledore then motioned to the chair next to the one Sirius sat down in. "Sit down, Amethyst, and we'll get started." Once I had sat down, he did too. He cleared his throat and said, "There is something that only Harry's parents and I know. Since they are not here, I will have to be the one to tel you that Harry was not the only child that Lily and James Potter had.  
  
My face showed a look of both surprise and confusion and even Sirius was dumbfounded. Still, Dumbledore continued: "About five years before Harry was born, Harry's older sister was born. It was about the time when Voldemort was coming to power, but I forsaw misfortune among the Potters. Secretly, I went to see them and I asked to have them send their daughter away. I told them how I felt and I promised to keep an eye on her until Voldemort was brought down. The problem is that I am getting older and I feel Samantha would be safer if she were brought here to Hogwarts. Also, considering that Voldemort has returned, it is imminent that she be kept under closer watch." Sirius asked the first question. "How do you believe that Harry would handle the event that a sister he's never known suddenly pops up after 14 years?"  
  
"I'm sure that Harry would understand once it was explained to him, but I'm not so sure about Samantha. I'm not entirely sure what she's like, considering I only keep her out of danger instead of monitoring her lifestyle."  
  
"Well," I asked, "do you know if she's shown any promise at becoming a witch?"  
  
"Surprisingly, I have seen very little, though I am not totally sure of her potential." He started to play with his long, white beard. "Though I would imagine that she would, considering the family she came from. But you never can tell these days."  
  
Both me and Sirius agreed. We all sat there for a moment, thinking. After a few seconds of silence, I asked, "Just out of curiosity, where do I fit into this?"  
  
Dumbledore looked at me. "I need someone that Samantha can relate to or talk to. I know you have an unusual gift and I am asking that you od whatever is in your power to do should any harm come to her. I would like you to make sure, though, that you contact me somehow if something were to happen."  
  
"What gift is this?" Sirius asked. "I don't mean to pry, but I, too, am a little curious."  
  
Dumbledore waved his hand at me, prefering that I tell the story. "Well," I began, "when I went to school here 12 years ago, I was excited and scared, being so young...but I'll skip that part. During my fourth year, I was in potions class and some Slytherins made Professor Argus furious and he threw a bottle of pure polyjuice potion at me and it did something wierd.  
  
"I found out later that if I put a hair or piece of fur in m  
  
y mouth, I can become that thing. It scared the other kids and so I came up here and talked to Professor Dumbledore. He told me that this was a gift I should keep under strict watch and would probably not be welcome if other people found out. He told me about some other person who received a ton of unruly mail when a story appeared about them. So, to prevent any further fear, I left Hogwarts and live on Diagon Alley."  
  
"How did Harry meet you?" Sirius asked, his hand on his chin.  
  
"I met him in Flourish and Blotts. I introduced myself and we started talking and I told him my story. Unfortunately, he told a friend of his, but I feel I can trust them."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Ron...something. I had breakfast with Harry and Ron the day before they left for Hogwarts, though."  
  
Sirius nodded, his curiosity satiated. Mine was not totally, though. "Professor Dumbledore?" I asked, "how do you plan to get Samantha here? You can't very well use a portkey with her."  
  
He smiled. "Actually, she should be on her way. First, I had..." He paused and cocked his head, listening for something.  
  
I strained my hearing until I noticed a thumping noise coming outside of the window. "It sounds like something's going on outside."  
  
Dumbledore stood up and walked over to the window. He looked down at the grounds for a time before frowning. "Oh goodness," he said with a hint of urgency and concern before he ran out of the door.  
  
Sirius and I both rushed to the window and when we looked at the grounds, we noticed a girl with dark crimson hair running near the Whomping Willow. Suddenly, I recalled the dream I had several months ago, but I wasn't entirely sure if it were true. Both Sirius and I ran out of the room after Dumbledore.  
  
  
  
On the way down the stairs, I noticed another body rushing down in our direction, but our pace didn't slow. By the time all of us had reached the door leading out to the back of the castle to the vicious tree, a small crowd of kids had assembled around the door. The Professor made his way through the door, as did I, and we were shocked at what we saw. A small, mouse-haired boy was standing with his wand, crying. Then I noticed the red- headed girl laying unconscious on the ground.  
  
I noticed that the tree had been somehow immobilized and Sirius, in dog- form was standing on a small part of the trunk. The crowd looked at the girl and I was in utter shock at the resemblance between Harry Potter and this girl; it could only be Samantha Potter.  
  
Suddenly, Harry and a bunch of other students came running down the stairs. Harry's eyes went wide when he saw me standing outside and ran smiling out to talk to me. He yelled out my name, grinning from ear to ear, but his face changed when he looked over at the body of the sister he never knew. It was a look of concern, confusion, surprise, and utter bewilderment all at the same time.  
  
Quickly, Dumbledore picked up Samantha in a show of hidden strength and began to carry her back into the castle. Several kids backed up, gasping, and just as confused by this strange person as Harry was. All the while, the lady who'd followed us outside was fussing over how to treat Samantha. Dumbledore did not listen to her, but handed her to Sirius (back in human form) who took her back upstairs and to the hospital wing.  
  
I walked over to Harry, who stood there with Ron and another girl. Upon seeing Samantha, everyone else had backed away from him for some reason. I walked over to him and Ron was asking him questions. Finally, Dumbledore turned to me and said, "Take Harry up to the hospital wing. I'll take care of the rest of this."  
  
I grabbed Harry's hand and carefully I begun to tug him back into the school. As I was doing that, I heard Dumbledore say, "Everyone go to your normal classes right now. I will explain the situation at dinner tonight." I saw everyone slowly walk off, several looking back at Harry.  
  
Ron and the other girl began to follow me and Harry and asked Dumbledore if they could stay. He agreed and all of us went upstairs, not saying anything. About halfway up, though, I asked Harry how shcool aws doing.  
  
"It's going well, but....Who was that girl? I'm know for sure that I've seen her before."  
  
"Where?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"On Diagon Alley," Harry replied. "I hadn't talked to her then."  
  
Hermione spoke up, curious. "I was with you all that day. I don't remember seeing her. What shop was it at?"  
  
"At the Leaky Cauldron. She wasn't in there long, though."  
  
We kept walking up, not saying too much, except when we were outside the door where Samantha was now. At that point, I stood behind Harry and only Dumbledore blocked the door. "Harry," he said. "Before you go in, I'd like you to know that her name is Samantha Potter...Your sister."  
  
It seemed almost as if Harry was suspended, his heart seeming almost to stop. I don't know what he thought, but I'm sure he was as confused as one person could get. He begun to look as if he wanted to say something, but decided that the words he chose weren't the right ones. Finally, he just said one word: "Why?"  
  
"As soon as Samantha awakens, I will tel lboth of you; I want both of you to hear it at the same time." Calmly, he opened the door and let Harry enter first. He went reluctantly in.  
  
Inside, Samantha layed on the bed, her dark crimson hair kind of splayed out around her head. Sirius stood beside her bed but he walked over to Harry when he'd entered. "Did you tell him, Albus?"  
  
"Yes, but I'll explain the story later, when Samantha wakes up."  
  
Harry sat down in a chair on the wall and when I sat down next to him, he looked at me and I smiled comfortingly. "Life..." I said, simply. "It's kind of ironic, if you think about it." I saw one corner of his mouth turn up. "Actually, when Dumbledore asked me to come here, I quit my job at Rowel and Hobbs."  
  
At that point, Ron came over and said, "You never got to meet Hermione." Ron's friend stepped closer. "Hermione, this is Amethyst; Amethyst, Hermione."  
  
The two of us shook hands. "So what classes have you been taking?"  
  
She smiled and shook her hair back. "Well, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies and the usual ones like Potions and Transfiguration."  
  
"Cool," I said, nodding. "I'm just curious; did Ron and Harry already tell you about myself?"  
  
"No. We didn't because you asked us not to," Ron said. "Right, Harry?"  
  
"Yah," he said, a little bit out of his nothingness. "We wanted to, though."  
  
"Well," I said, "I'll tell you in a little while. Possibly when Samantha wakes up."  
  
Strangely, at that point, Samantha began to stir. Her muscles flexed and she sat up, but when she did, she brought her hand to her head and let out a not-so-appropriate word. I gasped, always a little shocked to hear people say such things, but I forgave her silently, not knowing how she was brought up. Then she looked around and asked, "Where am I?" Then she looked over at us and asked in a more annoyed tone, "Who are you?"  
  
"Samantha Potter?" Professor Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Yah?"  
  
"My name is Albus Dumbledore and you are at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Samantha laughed but the Head Master continued. "What you are about to hear you probably will not believe, but I promise that I will tell you only the truth."  
  
"Pft...yah, right."  
  
"When you were first born, Samantha, a man named Lord Voldemort was jsut starting to come to power." I saw Ron flinch at the name again and Samantha rolled her eyes. "I forsaw the evil that he would bring from the start, even if others did not. I went to your parents -- your real parents, Lily and James Potter -- and asked that they send you to a safer place where Voldemort couldn't fin dyou. I knew that they were reluctant to do so, but I promised them that I would keep an eye on you until the danger posed against you was gone.  
  
"Five years later, Harry was born, but unfortunately your parents were on the Dark Lord's list to get rid of. He killed both of them, but Harry managed to survive. Now he lives with a scar on his forehead as a reminder. At that point, Voldemort lost his power and went into hiding. Everyone thought he was finished, but now he's returned, stronger than before.  
  
"As I am getting older, I felt that it was best to bring you here to Hogwarts to better protect you and to ensure that you found out who your family is."  
  
Samantha crossed her arms. "You know what I think?" she said to the rest of us. "I think this guy here has had just a tad bit too much fairy dust thrown at him, if you know what I mean. I'm leaving." She tried to stand up but when she did, her legs seemed a bit wobbly and she looked kind of dizzy. Being the tough one she was, though, she ignored it and started to walk out of the door.  
  
But Harry stood up and blocked her way out of the door. "You can't leave now," he said.  
  
"Oh, and who, may I ask, is going to stop me? You? or this tall she-witch over here?" She pointed to me and I resented that comment.  
  
At that moment, I had an idea and walked up to Samantha. I quickly pulled a hair off her head and before she could utter another profanity, I stuck it in my mouth. Immediately I felt myself begin to change. I noticed her step back as well as everyone else. In a matter of seconds, I'd managed to replicate Samantha totally except for the clothes. It felt wierd, though, never having changed into another person so quickly.  
  
Samantha stood there with a look of surprise, shock, and confusion. I looked her straight in the eye and winked at her. "How does it feel to be looking into your own face? Do you believe Professor Dumbledore now?"  
  
"I...uh..." At that point she grabbed the chair that Harry had been sitting in and sat down. She looked up at Sirius and asked, "What's going on?"  
  
Sirius looked to Dumbledore, not knowing what to say. "As I said," Dumbledore replied, "I only told the truth and nothing else. This boy here is your brother and you were born to one of the most prestegious wizard families ever."  
  
"Great," Samantha said. "So what does that make me?"  
  
"A witch, no doubt!" Ron said. "Anyone with Harry Potter as a brother is bound to be just as good!"  
  
Samantha glared at Ron. "Who're you calling a witch?"  
  
Sirius spoke up this time. "He doesn't mean that in an offensive way. It just means you can do magic."  
  
"Oh...well, good." She flipped her hair back a little before talking again. "So what happens from here?"  
  
Harry went up to Samantha and offered her his wand. "Here," he said, "take this and try waving it around."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just do it."  
  
Samantha reluctantly took the wand and waved it above her head. Nothing happened and when that was certain, Ron went up to her and offered his. Still nothing worked and Hermione offered her's and after that even Dumbledore put his to the test. Not so much as a spark came from any of them and Harry and Ron were perplexed as to why that may have been.  
  
"Maybe she just can't use our wand," Hermione said. "Mr. Olivander said that every wand is different."  
  
"That is probably true, Hermione," Dumbledore responded saying. "One can't just pick up any wand and expect something to happen if they know practically nothing about magic...No offence intended, Samantha."  
  
"None taken." She tapped her foot and wondered, "What if it turns out I can't do magic?"  
  
"You? a muggle?" Sirius commented. "That's unthinkable!"  
  
"Well," Hermione commented, "if Samantha were a Muggle, she wouldn't have made it as far as Hogwarts, considering the ward spells placed around this school."  
  
At that time, Samantha shook her head. "Now you're losing me. This is a lot to handle at one time." Then she looked at me. "Could you, like, turn back into yourself? It's freaking me out."  
  
Unsure of how long it would take for me to change back, I nodded and pulled the hair out of my mouth. Almost instantly, I had changed back into my origonal firm. Now I knew for certain that Samantha was no Muggle. I turned to Dumbledore and said, slightly concerned, "I've never changed so fast. Normally it doesn't take less than an hour to change back to my normal self."  
  
Dumbledore seemed to ponder over this for a moment, his hand playing with his long beard. "I'll tell you what," he said. "Why don't you show Samantha around the school while Sirius and I talk this out."  
  
Ron turned and opened the door, allowing everyone to walk out. Harry led the way down the castle and out of the front door. "Where do you think we should start, Hermione?"  
  
Hermione shrugged her shoulders, "I think we should just start at the bottom and work our way up from there. We'll have to show her places not to go, though. We wouldn't want her stumbling across Moaning Myrtle."  
  
"Good heavens, no!" Harry said. "She'd probably try to drown Samantha or something."  
  
Ron laughed at that and we continued down the stairs. The first place we went was down to the dungeon where Potions class was held. "Now," Hermione said a little ways before we came to the room, "we can't be seen because Professor Snape is teaching a class right now. If he knew that we were out of class, we'd lose plenty of house points. He hates us!"  
  
"Why's that?" I asked softly.  
  
Harry spoke up saying, "Because he hated my dad and thinks I'm trying to always draw attention to myself; it's not as if I wanted this stupid scar in the first place. Then he thinks that Ron and Hermione disobey the rules because they're my friends."  
  
"That sucks," I said. "I had a teacher do that to me because I was so young and did as well as anyone else."  
  
"What house were you in?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Ravenclaw. I was pretty sure I'd be in that one, but I wouldn't have minded being in Gryffindor." That response created mixed expressions, but I dismissed them.  
  
We walked up from the dungeon, undetected, and started walking around on the first floor. The next thing we showed her was the Great Hall where everyone ate and stuff like that took place. She was pretty impressed with the immensity of the room. We told her which houses sat where, but since there wasn't a whole lot to say about it, we left. When we were back in the cooridor, Harry told her to look up and she saw the skylike roof and was somewhat amused with it.  
  
After that, we showed her the different classrooms and told her who the different teachers were and what they taught. When we'd finished the first floor, we realized that the classes were almost over. Harry looked at Ron with a sense of urgency. "We can't let everyone see Samantha yet!"  
  
"Quick!" Hermione said. "Let's take her up to the dormatory and I'll hide her in my bed." Without another word, we ran up a couple flights of stairs and when we came to the Fat Lady, Hermione said the password: "Springtime cheer."  
  
Before the Fat Lady could ask why Harry was out of class, the frame swung open and we all clambered though. As we ran through the common room, Harry and Ron headed for the men's dormatory while Hermione, Samantha and I clambered into the girl's. Hermione ushered us over to her bed and when me and Samantha sat on there, rather unfomfortably, she pulled the curtain around the bed so no one could see us.  
  
About 30 seconds later, we heard the sound of people coming up to the dormatory. I'm not exactly sure what Hermione was doing but I heard some of the girls still talking about what had happened before the classes had started. Not only were they talking about Samantha, but some had their own questions about me.  
  
"Did you see that one girl in the purple and blue robes, Hermione?" one girl asked.  
  
"I didn't see her very well, but I caught a glimpse of her," Hermione replied. I think she wasn't sure quite what to say.  
  
"Well, you were with Harry when she dragged him off," the girl continued.  
  
Another spoke up saying, "Where were you during class, Hermione? I didn't see you in Transfiguration; I didn't see Harry or Ron, either."  
  
"I went with Harry and Ron came with us." Another girl was about to ask her a question, but Hermione said, suddenly, "Look at the time! I'd better get to class!" I heard her open a trunk at the base of her four-poster bed and pull something else out. She'd already had her stuff with her so I guessed she was just trading books. Then I heard her walk out with the rest of the girls.  
  
I looked over at Samantha who looked like she was about to say something, but wasn't sure if she should. I would have asked Hermione where she was going had I not been hidden. I hoped Harry and Ron were still in their dormatory so Samantha and I weren't running around by ourselves. Who knows what kind of trouble we might get into if we were caught.  
  
We waited for a minute or so more before Samantha peeked out from behind the curtain. "They're gone," she said to me. "Let's go." We hopped off of the bed and quietly walked to the door of the dormatory.  
  
At that point, someone knocked on the door. Samantha and I walked back from the door, ready to run back to the be. "Sam!" someone whispered. "Amethyst! It's Harry!" We opened he door and there Harry stood. "The guys found Ron hiding in his bed, but I threw my invisibility cloak on so they couldn't see me."  
  
"They saw Hermione, also, so she's gone to class," Samantha said. We started to walk out of the dormatories again when Samantha said, "You know, I'm kind of hungry right now." Then I realized that I was, too.  
  
"The kitchen's always open and the house-elves are always willing to work," Harry said. "Let's go down there."  
  
"Alright," we said and worked our way cautiously out of the dormatory. We went down the cooridor, down a couple flights of stairs, hung a right and Harry pointed out the entrance to the kitchen when we came to it. We were at a picture of a bunch of fruit and he went up to it and scratched the pair. It giggled a little bit, but then the frame opened up and the entrance appeared. When he walked through a bunch of little faces looked ou way. I'd never seen a house-elf before, partially because they didn't want to be seen.  
  
One of them ran over to Harry and hugged his leg. "Oh! Dobby is so happy that Harry Potter has come to visit him! Dobby is so-" Then he saw Samantha and me. "Who is they?" he asked.  
  
I stepped forward to the wide-eyed house elf. "My name is Amethyst Star and my friend here is Samantha Potter." I wasn't sure what to say at all considering I'd never seen a house elf before. It had always seemed as if they didn't want to be seen.  
  
"Samantha Potter? Is Harry Potter having a sister?" That sounded kind of funny, but we didn't say anything. "Dobby not know about other family! Dobby only know about poor, poor, Harry Potter's parents."  
  
"Yes, Dobby," Harry said. "This is my sister, Samantha, but you must do something for me."  
  
"Dobby do what Harry Potter is wanting him to do!"  
  
"I need for you to keep this a secret." Then he looked at the rest of the house elves. "Can you all keep this secret for me? Don't tell anyone about my sister."  
  
They all nodded enthusiastically; Samantha stood there smirking a little. Then she clapped her hands together and said, "I'm a little hungry. Can I get something to eat?" After a second she said, "Please?" not wanting to sound impolite.  
  
The house elves scurried about and before long, they had a full plate of sandwiches along with a couple dishes of pudding and goblets of pumpkin juice. Personally, I felt spoiled, but Samantha looked at the pudding and juice with a somewhat disgusted expression. "Let's sit down," I said. The house elves then put the food and drinks up on a small table. I grabbed a sandwich and bit at it ravenously.  
  
Samantha grabbed one as well and bit into it. "What kind of pudding is that?" she asked. Well, considering it was a purple sort of color and never having eaten like this before, I didn't blame her too much.  
  
"It's good," Harry said. "Try some."  
  
She passed on it, but kept eating the sandwich. They were as I remembered, really good. "So, Samantha," I asked, "what kind of stuff do you do for fun outside of the wizardring world...I mean, where you live?"  
  
"Well," she said, her mouth full of sandwich, "I personally like going around and having drinks with my friends, but I-"  
  
At that moment, something went through the kitchen and overturned the pudding bowl all over me. I saw Harry's face turn red and frustrated. "PEEVES!!!" he yelled. I recalled that name vaguely as being one of the polterguise that went around here.  
  
But what I didn't expect was that Samantha yelled out as well. "PEE...VES!" When she yelled that, a ghost's face appeared and looked at her with an astonished look.  
  
"Another Potter, I do see; I do not think she can see me!" he said, idiotically. Then he stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
"I swear by the very !)@(#*& ground I stand on that if you try that again, I will turn whatever it is that makes up all your hideous apppearance into something more foul, more #@&!*% and unholy than the ghastly creature that birthed you!"  
  
I sure didn't expect that at all, but it did something because Peeves looked at her with an expression of fear and ran out screaming as high as he could. Harry and I looked at her in surprise and amazement; me, in part that I didn't think people utilized such language in one sentence. "Wow!" Harry said. "No one else can scare Peeves except for the Bloddy Baron!"  
  
"Well," she said when she took another bite of another sandwich, "no person, wizard or ghost or any other kind of person, is going to try that @#$& on me! I've dealt with worse." Then she looked at me. "You okay, Amy?"  
  
I didn't care much where she got the nickname from; I was too busy wondering what I could do with my new robe. Dark purple pudding on an amethyst colored robe didn't exactly match. "Just dandy," I replied. By that time, one house elf made a loud popping noise and as if it'd never happened, my robe was clean. "Oh, why thank you!" They smiled and took away the sandwiches and pudding bowl.  
  
I took another sandwich and then turned to Samantha. "Do you want to look around a little more?"  
  
"Can I take this with me?" She asked, referring to the sandwich.  
  
"Yah, just try not to drop anything out of it," Harry said. We kept walking along, each of us showing her different classrooms and the library and other unmarked rooms that I hadn't seen before. I asked Harry about them and he said, "Some of the rooms, move from place to place. Not the classrooms, but just other rooms that are hardly used."  
  
When class was out again a while later, Harry looked around and pulled us next to a picture of a bunch of fruit. I saw him scratch at the pear and the frame slid aside to reveal a secret passageway. He pulled us in and I whispered, "How did you know about this?"  
  
"It's a secret," he said. "I can tell anyone about it, though."  
  
"Where does this go?" Samantha asked.  
  
"It goes all the way to Hogsmeade. It's a 100% wizard town with all sorts of shops and stuff. Dumbledore probably wouldn't let you go, though...considering the situation."  
  
Samantha gave a defiant look, but I couldn't tell if she was thinking about running down the passage or something else. Then she just waited there patiently until Harry said it was all clear. Then he poked his head out of the tunnel and said it was all clear. So we kept walking around, showing her the rest of the classrooms and when we were done with that, we went into some rooms that neither Harry no I had seen before. Then Harry explained how some of the rooms moved and so if you went in a room one day, it'd be in an entirely different place in the castle another day.  
  
When dinner came around, Harry ran back up to the Gryffindor dormatory and I took Samantha back to Dumbledore's office. When we got there, I picked up the black box I'd brought with me and put it on Dumbledore's desk. I opened it up and there was the conch shell, luckily intact. "Now, Samantha, it is important for your sake that you do not touch this shell," I said to her.  
  
"Why not?" she asked. "I'm not going to break the @#$% thing."  
  
"It's just that if you touch it, you'll get sucked in and I don't think I'd be able to get you out without a lot of help. I don't want to have to go through that."  
  
"Alright," she said.  
  
"Thanks," I said. Then I touched the shell and the amethyst and I willed myself into the shell. When I opened my eyes, I was inside the shell. I made my drawers appear and pulled out a black robe. Then I changed out of my amethyst and blue robe and pulled the black one over my head; I didn't want to look too conspicuious. Once that was done, I put the amethyst robe into the drawer and pulled out my invisibility cloak. I made the drawer vanish and willed myself out.When I was out, Samantha looked at me. "Wicked!" she said.  
  
"Want to have some dinner?" I said to her. Then I pulled out the silver cloak for her to see. It felt almost weightless in my hand.  
  
"What's that?" she asked me.  
  
"It's an invisibility cloak," I replied. I pulled it over my head and I vanished from sight. Then I threw it over her. "Let's go. It'd be more interesting this way."  
  
She got out from under it and smiled. "That's alright. I'll just go the conventional way...walking."  
  
"Well, if someone sees us before we get down there, then we'll have a heck of a time trying to explain ourselves." She agreed but reluctantly got back under the cloak. "Let's go." We walked down to the Great Hall where the huge doors were open and people were already seated. A couple more people came down before we walked in. I tapped Harry on the shoulder and he looked back at us but didn't see anything. I told him it was us and he nodded. "Come with me," I said to Samantha. Then we headed over to the teacher's table.  
  
I went up to Dumbledore and tapped him on the shoulder. Somehow he knew who I was and said to me, "Welcome, Amethyst. I've been wondering where you and Samantha took off to."  
  
I took off the cloak, but I turned to Samantha and told her to keep the robe wrapped around her for a little bit longer. "Hello Professor Dumbledore. Sorry I am late, but I had to change for dinner."  
  
"Very well then," he said. He rose and faced the rest of the kids that were sitting at their respectable tables. When he did so, the room grew quiet as both the students and teachers saw him looking around the room. When he had everyone's attention, he began to speak.  
  
"I would like to introduce you all to a former student from here at Hogwarts. Her name is Amethyst and she had come back at my personal request and her business is her's and I would appreciate it if you would make her welcome and not pester her about her previous experiences. If she chooses to tell you about herself, then that is at her own discretion. I would appreciate it if you would honor that. In the meantime, I would like to introduce you to another newcomer."  
  
Taking that as her cue, Samantha whipped the invisibility cloak off of her body with all of the flare she could. I heard more than a few gasps as people noticed the resemblance to her brother. I noticed many heads turn towards Harry, but he just sat there, indifferent to the idea that people had another reason to stare at him. Not waiting for Dumbledore to speak, she introduced herself. "I'm Samantha Potter and yes I am Harry's big sister."  
  
I looked over and some of the Slytherins were trying hard not to bust out laughing at Harry, while others were not holding it back at all. Some of the students from the other houses just stared, confused. Dumbledore continued talking at that point. "She will be participating in the classes here at Hogwarts, so I would like for you to help her if she looks like she's having any trouble."  
  
Samantha rolled her eyes and then I looked over at Harry. When I did, I also noticed Hermione who looked as if she would be more than willing to help, her face had a look that said she felt she knew anything Samantha would ever need to know. I ignored that and began to walk over to the Ravenclaw table, somewhat curious how my house was doing. Then I noticed that they were all interested in talking about Harry's sister. I could understand that, so I went over to Samantha, who looked like she was unsure where to go exactly. I nodded my head towards the Gryffindor table and she walked over there with me.  
  
We went to where Ron and Harry and Hermione sat and they said hello to us, smiling with recognition. Meanwhile, everyone else at the Gryffindor table was asking Samantha to sit next to them. Instead of sitting down as well, I decided it'd be good for Samantha to get acquainted with everyone and so I left the Hall.  
  
I was still hungry and so I walked around until I came to the picture of the fruit. Just as Harry had done, I tickled the picture, but I mistakenly tickled the cherries and nothing happened. I tried the other fruits and eventually came to the pear. When the picture slid aside, I walked into the kitchen. None of the house elves noticed my quiet entrance, but I saw them working diligently, trying to make sure there was enough for dinner. Seeing how busy they were, I decided to come back later.  
  
I backtracked and closed the picture behind me. Then I began to ascend up to Dumbledore's office to get my "home". When I went up there, I thought I heard something coming from the inside as if someone was looking around the office. But when I opened the door, the room looked exactly as I'd left it and there was no one in there. I dismissed it as paranoia and proceeded to put the conch shell back in it's box. When that was done, I left the room and headed towards the Ravenclaw dormatory.  
  
It wasn't too far of a walk there and when I arrived, I saw the frame that the door-guard was supposed to be in, but she wasn't there. Instead of wait around, I used the amethyst around my neck to walk through the frame. I used my hands to feel around for the entrance hole to the common room and after a moment, I grabbed my box and crawled through the hole, which was about 3 feet off of the ground. I remembered being a first-year and having trouble reaching it. I climbed through and dragged my box behind me until I came to the common room. There, I set it down in a corner of the room and searched around for a piece of parchment and a quill to write a message to the Ravelclaws.  
  
When I found what I was looking for, I sat down and began to write:  
  
"My fellow Ravenclaws,  
  
I would appreciate it if you would not open this box. I am most likely asleep right now and if you wish to ask anything, please wait until morning. Thank you.  
  
-Amethyst Star  
  
I set that on top of the box and then I carefully opened the lid a little so the note wouldn't come off and touched the conch shell inside with one finger. Then I entered the shell and went to sleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
It was a couple days later after that and both Samantha and I had grown accustomed to the school -- me, again. It took a while for her to get over the way of thinking that this was all just a big dream or a joke. Dumbledore had put Samantha into the classes, also, but he placed her into the classes that didn't require a wand, considering that she didn't have one. So she was in Potions with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and I also went with them, considering that I'd not finished my years there.  
  
The dungeon looked quite different than I remembered it the last time I was down there. I sat down in a seat next to Samantha, the two of us a bit taller than the rest of the class. When the teacher came in, he looked at us disdainfully. I could tell without being told that he was not too fond of Harry and his friends. He was a short man with a pointy nose in the center of his face. Two small, beady eyes were close together. "Now, class," he said in a distastefull voice, "it is time to test your antidotes against shrinking potions."  
  
I looked around the room at everyone and some people had worried looks on their faces. One especially short kid looked as if he was ready to cry. Not wishing to get Harry in trouble by saying anything, I silently felt a wave of sympathy. Everyone was grabbing their cauldrons off of a shelf and took it back to their seats. I noticed one of the students from the Slytherin house pull something out of his robe and quickly toss it into another cauldron. A few moments later, I noticed it was Harry's and I went over to tell him. Unfortunately, the professor pointed at me and said, "Excuse me, Miss..."  
  
"Star," I replied. "Amethyst Star."  
  
"I don't know what they did when you went to school, but in my class, no one speaks unless I tell them to. And in case I'm not mistaken, you have no cauldron to pick up, so there is no reason for you to get out of your seat."  
  
I knew from past experiences that with these kind of people, you didn't argue. I just didn't say anything and when I saw Samantha about to say something, I snapped my fingers quietly and looked at her. She glared at Snape but didn't speak. I just sat back down and wished there was a way I could warn Harry. Who knows what that idiot put in there?  
  
"Everyone partner up," the professor said. He looked over at us. "Harry, partner up with your sister, Ron, you're with Neville, and Hermione, you're with Draco." I saw Hermione's eyes go wide and she looked very unnerved. I saw her go over to the boy who'd put the thing in Harry's cauldron and I saw her look of surprise change to a look of anger. The teacher then passed out small viles of the shrinking potion. "You will each take this and then take your partner's antidote."  
  
I now understood Hermione's fear. This Draco looked as if he and Harry were enemies, as well as Harry's friends. "Miss Star," the teacher said to me. I looked at him and said, "Yes, sir?"  
  
"You, no doubt have done this before, so I will excuse you from the test. You may watch and see who followed my directions correctly and who did not."  
  
I ignored the callous way that he said that, trying to find a way to help everyone. I had a feeling that Hermione's potion was perfect, but I realized that if Hermione took her own potion, the other person would get the grade and she would be stuck in a bad situation. I sighed, unable to really do anything, except for Harry.  
  
I put my hand on the amethyst nonchalantly so that the teacher didn't know anything about how I could use my abilities. I saw Samantha take the shrinking potion and she waited for a little while before Harry handed her the antedote. I was about to switch the potion that Harry gave her with some that Hermione had made. Unfortunately, though, I heard Ron yell out and when I looked over, I saw him start to break out in red sploches. His partner, who was the short, mousy kid I'd looked at, looked as if he was about to cry. When I'd looked back at Samantha, she'd already taken the potion.  
  
"Oh my @#$!" she yelled. "That tastes like #$%^!"  
  
She kept talking about the poor taste of Harry's potion while the professor turned to me and barked, "Amethyst!" I turned to face him and he said, "Take Ron up to the hospital wing. 10 points from Gryffindor, thanks to Mr. Longbottom." The last he said to everyone, who groaned while Neville hid his face in his hands.  
  
I went over to Ron and started to lead him to the door. He pulled back when I touched his shirt and as I led him out, he cast an angry look at the teacher before we walked out the door. When we were out, he said, "I hate Snape! It's not our whole house's fault if Neville has trouble in everything."  
  
"I know what that's like," I replied, not wanting to say anything else in case I somehow would say something to make Ron's temper explode. So we walked up to the nurse in silence. Madame Pomfrey, her name was, was treating another kid for the same problem Ron was having. "Ron was taking the antidote for a shrinking potion someone else in the class was making," I explained.  
  
"Ron," she said very matter-of-factly, "take a seat on the bench over there and I'll get to you soon." Ron sat down and then the nurse spoke to me. "You may return to...wherever you were. Thank you for accompanying him up here."  
  
I looked over at the kid that she was attending to and said inquisitively, "Potions?"  
  
He nodded an affirmative. So I walked back down to the Potions class, wondering if anything had happened to Samantha. I was relieved that when I walked into the classroom, everyone was sitting back down again. "So nice of you to join us, Miss Star," Snape said, an edge of sarcasm to his voice. I took my seat next to Samantha and she leaned over to me.  
  
"That stuff tastes nastier than %^&*," she whispered to me. I allowed myself a small smile, glad that nothing had happened to her. Hermione, on the other hand, wasn't so fortunate. When I looked over at her, she pointed to her mouth and showed that it wouldn't open. I grimaced before turning my eyes forward, waiting for whatever torture Professor Snape had in store for the rest of the class.  
  
On top of Potions, I was in a History of Magic, the Care of Magical Creatures (which I wouldn't have passed up for anything), and for some reason, Transfiguration. I thought that was a waste of time since I didn't have a wand, but I didn't complain. Samantha did complain a little bit, wondering why we had to be in the same classes. I looked at Dumbledore, wondering how much we should be apart if I was going to keep an eye on her. Dumbledore explained later that I wasn't the only one who was going to be watching her and so I was satisfied.  
  
A near unfortunate thing, though, was that the Divination teacher jumped when she heard that a former student had come back. "I'm sure it's an omen!" she blurted out. "She has to be in my class! I saw in the stars last week that someone would arrive and she's...well, the claravoyant aura around her is amazing. She'd-"  
  
Fortunate for me, Dumbledore interrupted her. Then he turned to me and calmly asked, "Do you wish to be in Divination, Amethyst?"  
  
"Heck no!" was the sentence I wanted to shove down her throat, but I decided to be civil and polite. "No thank you," I replied. "I respect your opinion, Professor, but I am not one who chooses to meddle with the future. I prefer to let things fall as they may. That is only my opinion, though." I tried to make it sound as impersonal as possible so as so as not to offend her. She did look disappointed, but I didn't really care. She'd never get me in that class!  
  
A couple days later, I was sitting in my shell in the Ravenclaw dormatory, reading a book I'd checked out from the library on the properties of things some people used for magical use, wondering if I could find out a little bit about my little rock. After a while, though, I began to get bored. So I popped out of my shell (which was now next to a window that everyone promised not to run around near) and everyone looked at me for a moment before going back to what they were doing. The impressiveness of the shell had gradually worn off over the last couple days.  
  
I turned to one of the people that was near me and told them that if Dumbledore asked, I was visiting with Harry and them. She said okay and I walked out. I went over to the Gryffindor area and when I was at the picture frame of the Fat Lady, she greeted me with a warm smile. I returned the greeting before saying the password and the frame moved aside. I crawled into the common room and most of the people in there said hello to me. I'd reverted to wearing my normal black robes over a yellow shirt and black pants so I didn't stick out as much as before.  
  
I noticed Hermione sitting at a table, her nose so close to the table, one would almost wonder if she needed glasses. I walked over to her and she looked up. She said, "Oh, hello there."  
  
"Hey, Hermione," I replied, "I've been kind of bored and I was wonding if you and Ron and Harry and Samantha would like to take a walk or something?"  
  
"Walk around where? I've got this homework I've got to finish for Arithmancy." She looked down at the papers in front of her before she spoke again. "Well, I think I can spare some time to go outside."  
  
I told her I'd get Harry and Ron if she'd go get Samantha. She walked into the girls dormatory and I asked someone if he'd grab the two boys and he pointed to them over in another corner of the common room. I felt kind of stupid when I walked over to them. "Want to go outside for a little while?" I asked them.  
  
"Sure," they both said. "Is Hermione coming?"  
  
"Yah. She went to get Samantha. I'm just kind of sick being stuck in here for a couple days." They agreed. "Anywhere in particular you wanted to go?"  
  
"Well," I replied, "I was hoping to see Hagrid for a moment. I have a friend back on Diagon Alley who had a couple questions about crups. Someone gave one to her and she was wondering how to take care of them. I thought I'd ask Hagrid if he could give her some advice." They said okay and Hermione came back with Samantha. "We ready?"  
  
We started to walk out and we went out a back door of the castle. We talked a little bit about our classes while we headed to the Gamekeeper's cabin. But at one point, Samantha looked over at the forest as if she saw something moving around in there. Chances are, there were.  
  
Samantha thought for a second and looked around as we kept walking towards Hagrid's cabin. Before too long, she asked, "How far are you guys allowed to go from the castle? I mean, you're allowed to go in the forest, right?"  
  
I saw Ron shiver a little and I guessed that he'd been in there before. It was only too apparent that he'd not liked it at all. "We can go almost anywhere on school grounds," he said, "except into the Forbidden Forest."  
  
Samantha chuckled. "Ooo! The 'Forbidden Forest.' Have you ever been in there?"  
  
"Yah," Harry said. "I've been in there a couple times and I didn't like it. Ron came with me one time but it was an emergency."  
  
"Yah," came a sarcastic male voice from behind them. "Little Harry Potter's a little scared to go into the woods alone." When we turned around, a tall, fair-faced boy stood there.  
  
"Oh, go shove it, Malfoy," Ron said.  
  
This new boy then caught sight of Samantha. "What, is your new girlfriend going to protect you, Wealsey? She's even got the same dumb colored hair."  
  
Upon hearing him address her in that way, Samantha lunged at Malfoy and grabbed a handful of his robe in one strong fist. She pulled him close to her face and in a low voice, she said, "What was that, grease-head?" The kid smiled, making another mistake. Samantha tightened her fist and threw him to the ground as one might throw a rock. His face was now red and he was obviously tongue-tied. "Run along, you coward," she spoke. "I'm nobody's (insert profanity here)."  
  
Needless to say the kid got up ratherly nervously. "You'll pay for that! My father has friends you couldn't imagine!"  
  
"Yah! Well, bring them here, too, and I'll kick the crap out of every one of them!" Samantha had such a look on her face that I was glad it was not directed at me.  
  
Malfoy scowled and began to walk off, his pride wounded. I wasn't sure what he sid under his breath, but I was sure I didn't want to hear. I'm not partial to foul language, in case you can't tell.  
  
We kept walking along and Samantha asked, fuming, "Who was that idiot?"  
  
"Draco Malfoy," Ron said. "He's just a dumb Slytherin who's in our year. I hate him!"  
  
"He's in our potions class, remember? But I'm not sure if Draco will be back soon after what Samantha did," Hermione mentioned, directing that to Ron and Harry. "It would be funny to see him as a white weasel again, though." Harry and Ron looked at her. "Not like I'd attempt that kind of transfiguration now!"  
  
At that point, Ron asked me a question. "I never asked you this, but what kind of wand do you have, Amethyst?"  
  
I sighed slightly, remembering how the Slytherin had taken it from me and destroyed it. "Before I was sent away from Hogwarts, a Slytherin student stole it from me and burnt it. I actually can do some magic still, though." I reached for the pouch under my robe.  
  
"How do you do it, then?" Hermione asked curiously.  
  
I pulled the amethyst out of the pouch and held it in my hand. "I can use this, but when I do a spell, I have to do them a different wa than if I had a wand.  
  
"Can I see that?" Samantha asked.  
  
Since I trusted her I smiled and handed it to her. She looked at it critically, examining it as she twisted it around in her hand. "It's flawed," she said. I bent forward to see it since I'd never noticed it before. "It's extremely small, but I can still see it." When I asked where, she turned it so I could see it and pointed. Sure enough, there was just the smallest of cracks in it, but it had never done anything to my spells.  
  
As she was handing it back, I had just started to grip it when something slammed into me, causing the gem to go flying out of my hand and into the forest. I was knocked to the ground but I was hardly hurt. When I turned around, though, I saw Draco standing there with a group of people who were obviously other Slytherins.  
  
"Care to try that again?" Draco said to Samantha.  
  
Without turning around, Samantha said quietly, "Some people just never learn!" Then she faced the small crowd. "How badly do you want to die, whatever your name is?"  
  
Draco laughed and everyone else did after him. "If you think you're so bad, pull your wand out and prove it." He pulled his own out and swinged it back and forth with his right hand.  
  
"No," Samantha said. "I don't have to."  
  
Draco took a step forward. "Or maybe it is that you don't know how to use one." He smiled menacingly with a smug look on his face.  
  
At that point, a small, pointy-faced man emerged from around one part of the castle. "What's going on?" Then he spotted Harry and pointed straight at him. "What are you doing out of class, Potter?"  
  
Before anyone could do anything, Samantha grabbed Draco's wand and began to fun into the forest. I wasn't about to let her run off alone, but I also wasn't going to get Harry in trouble. I grabbed his hand and dragged him after her even though I knew he didn't want to go in the forest. Naturally Ron and Hermione came along, reluctantly.  
  
I chased Samantha for a minute or so before she stopped, her breath coming a little bit harder. She smiled triumphantly when she saw me come closer to her. "Did you see the look on that !&#*@'s face when I took his wand?"  
  
Hermione fought to catch her breath. "We should go back to Dumbledore and tell him what happens before Snape barges up to his office!"  
  
"No," Harry said, himself winded. "Sirius is here so he'll go to McGongall which is worse. We're sure to lose plenty of house points for this!"  
  
Trying to be reassuring, I said, "Don't worry. I'll talk to Dumbledore and tell him what happened. I'm sure he'll take care of it properly."  
  
"Sure," Harry replied, "but that won't make Professor Snape any happier with us. He hates us!"  
  
"Why would that be?"  
  
"Because he hated my dad and thinks that I"m trying to always draw attention to myself. It's not as if I wanted this stupid scar in the first place."  
  
At that point, Samantha froze. "Shh," she whispered. The rest of us ducked down and scanned around for any sign of something. We didn't see anything for a time and so we stood up.  
  
"What was it?" Harry asked.  
  
Samantha still looked around. "I thought I heard something near us." Samantha then held out her hand to me. "Here," she said. "I managed to pick this up."  
  
When she opened her hand, the amethyst I had lost was there in her palm. I took it and thanked her. "We really should start heading back before someone tells Dumbledore. He'd never forgive me if he knew I'd allowed you to go in here!"  
  
Everyone else agreed, but before we could turn around, a low, crackling voice spoke up loudly. "What's the hurry?" As our luck would have it, Lord Voldemort stood there, his body blocking our path back to the castle. I saw Harry cringe and clutch at the scar on his forehead.  
  
Secretly, I put the amethyst back into the small pouch and put it under my robe. During that time, Hermione and Ron pulled out their wands. Samantha was luckily hidden from view by a tree and was not seen. I put my hand to the amethyst and slowly began to weave a fairly complicated spell I'd taught myself on Diagon Alley.  
  
"I believe Harry and I have some business to finish from the last time we met. I hope you don't mine," Voldemort said menacingly.  
  
I took a step forward and pretended to trip and fall. I landed near Hermione and gave her a look of urgency.  
  
"Clumsy friend, I see. What might be this one's name?"  
  
I stood up and brushed off my robe, but as I was doing so, I used my other hand to pretend I was having trouble breathing. "It's...none of your business," I said, acting breathless. Once I fully stood, I leaned against Hermione to make myself look clumsy and weak. Quickly, I told her, "Take them and run back to the castle."  
  
"What was that? It sounded as if you defied me." Voldemort's voice began to sound annoyed at my defiance but I was glad he hadn't heard what I said to Hermione. He stepped over to me and I couldn't help but fear him.  
  
At that point, I finished the rest of the spell's binding as fast as I possibly could and a circle of amethyst appeared behind me. At that time I yelled out, "Now, Hermione!"  
  
She grabbed Harry's arm and tried to run but Voldemort saw them and stood in their way. Voldemort pulled out his wand and yelled out one of the three unforgivable curses: "Crucio!" Where his wand pointed, Harry and Hermione fell to the ground, writing in pain. Ron looked on helplessly and Samantha's face burned as red as Ron's hair as Voldemort tortured the two kids.  
  
After only a few moments -- that seemed like ages to me -- the Dark Lord relinquished his curse and both of them went limp. Hermione looked almost as if she were going to cry and Harry's breath came in large gasps. But before anyone could react, Samantha let out a furious yell and charged out from behind the tree she was hiding behind. Voldemort gasped as he saw the crimson-headed girl leap at him and knock him to the ground.  
  
I saw Voldemort try to do something about this new problem, but it looked almost as if he, too, were in an immense amount of pain at that time. I decided not to find out why and pulled Harry to his feet. I looked over at Ron and he came over, too. Hermione got to her feet on her own and I told them to run back to the castle.  
  
I heard the sound of someone laying a punch to a person's face and I looked over to see Samantha still wrestling with the Dark Lord. I told the other three that I'd take care of Samantha and when they ran off, Voldemort was just throwing Samantha off of him. "Run!" I told Samantha. She seemed as if she didn't want to give up the fight, but she did anyway. As soon as she was a few feet away from me, I finished the spell I'd started and a wall of amethyst formed in their path.  
  
I looked back at Voldemort who looked only the slightest bit disheveled. When I looked back at him, though, I saw him draw his wand and I recoiled in terror. I closed my eyes against the immensity of the spell as he boomed in a powerful voice, "Avada Kadavra!" I saw a green flash of light and then everything went black. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
I regained consciousness at some point, though I don't know how. Harry had been the only person to survive the Avada Kadavra curse ever and so I was slightly confused. When I awoke, though, I felt myself lying on the ground on my back. It only took me a second to realize what had happened to me in full and I tried my hardest to remain still so Voldemort wouldn't know I was still alive. If he did, he might use me for collateral against Harry or even other people like Professor Dumbledore. I tried my hardest not to breathe too much.  
  
I opened one eye for only a moment and realized that I was in a cemetery. That idea caused the slightest of shudders to pass through me, but it was somehow enough to alert someone near Voldemort. I heard a male voice gasp and it shrieked out, "She's still alive, Lord Voldemort!"  
  
The Dark Lord came over to where I was and loomed over my body. "How can this be?" he asked.  
  
I probably wouldn't have been caught for a few more minutes, had not my body been wracked with terror. With probably the single-most powerful wizard standing over me, I began to shiver in fear; I dared not look up at him.  
  
Unfortunately, that didn't help much considering he took one bony hand and placed it under my chin to lift my face up. "So, the defiant one survived somehow. Knowing how you and Harry are the only ones to live through it, tell me how you were able to do it?"  
  
He cut right to the heart of the matter, not even leaving me time to think that that question might come up so soon. "I don't know," I said, my voice in almost a whisper.  
  
"Speak up!" he yelled out. "I don't take well to lies!"  
  
I managed to utter the same response in a slightly louder voice. Still, he didn't seem to believe me. He took his left hand and slapped me across the face. "Listen, urchin! My patience has run out and so you are going to tell me right now how you survived!" He pointed his wand at me and I tried to crawl back, but he had cast the Cruciatus curse before I could move a few inches away. My body just exploded into pain, feeling as if every bit of myself was falling into broken glass again and again. Not knowing exactly why I did, I suddenly yelled out, "I DON'T KNOW!" It seemed like an eternity before it ended. When it did, I had to make myself breathe or I would have forgotten because of the pain.  
  
When I did look over at Voldemort, he had a somewhat bemused look on his face. I could tell that he didn't like my answer, but he knew he'd get nothing else out of me. I was tempted to cry out for mercy, but I stood up, clutching my hand do my chest. When I did, though, I was surprised to find that my amethyst was gone. Not knowing what to do, I panicked! I checked the immediate vicinity to see if it had fallen out somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I looked over at Voldemort who had my amethyst floating in front of his face. I began to cry.  
  
"Now you are powerless to defend yourself in any way, pest." I knew at that moment that what he said was true. "First of all," he continued, "I would like for you to tell us all your name." Once again, he raised his wand and I let out a whimper. But instead of doing what I thought he would, he yelled out "Imperio!"  
  
It was more like the opposite of pain where I could let someone else take control of my body and not have to worry about anything. In the midst of my passive joy, I heard a voice ask me calmly, "What's your name?"  
  
I figured that it couldn't hurt to just say my name, so I did. But it wasn't until he released me from that spell that I realized I'd used my real name. I also saw Voldemort looking over at something behind me. He scowled and when I turned around, I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Samantha standing there, the first three having their wands drawn. I cursed myself for not being able to help them.  
  
"Ah," Voldemort said, smiling. "You decided to try and rescue your friend. How noble and predictable!"  
  
"Are you alright, Amethyst?" Samantha asked, glaring fearlessly at the Dark Lord. It was unfortunate she didn't know who he was and what things he'd done.  
  
"I'm alright," I replied. Then I heard Hermione yell something and suddenly, I was standing next to her. I looked over at her and the others and I pat my chest to show that I had lost it. I saw a worried look on Ron's face, but I saw Harry get angrier. "How did you get here?" I asked.  
  
"A nice little portkey that Voldemort sent to Hogwarts," Harry replied.  
  
I didn't know much about portkeys except that they transported people from one place to another. I guessed that Voldemort knew they'd come and he knew it, too. I wasn't sure why Dumbledore wasn't there or another teacher.  
  
At that point, Voldemort turned to the Death Eaters around him and ordered for them to leave. Once they'd all apparated away, he smiled at Harry, so wide it was almost inhuman. "So, Harry Potter, here we are again."  
  
"Yah," he said. He took out his wand and stood ready to do something. Ron and Hermione did the same, though their hands shook slightly.  
  
I wondered if she'd planned it, but Samantha ran out from behind Harry and lunged at Voldemort. The Dark Lord was ready for something like that and cast a stunning spell at Samantha. To my surprise, it didn't have much effect on her and she kept on running. Voldemort tried it again and then the body-binding curse, but that didn't work either. Growing angry, he bellowed out a spell that worked, sending Samantha flying back to where we stood. She landed with a thud and she had a fairly unhappy look on her face, along with a short unhappy stream of curses. "Who are you?" Voldemort asked, quite infuriated. "You've started to be more trouble than I care to deal with. Killing Harry all these years has been annoying enough. Must I spend my energies disposing of this one, too?"  
  
"My name is Samantha, @#$%^. Don't even think about touching my brother again!" She had already stood before she said that.  
  
There was a surprised look on the Dark Lord's face which was mixed with pleased curiosity. "So, Harry wasn't the only git that Lily and James sired."  
  
"Shutup," Harry yelled out along with Samantha. "I'm here for Amethyst."  
  
Voldemort looked over at me. "Did you lie to me?" he asked. "I heard a different name come from your mouth."  
  
I didn't say anything, preferring to let him wonder. I took a step back and found something behind me. I looked over, but I didn't see anything there. I turned to Harry and whispered, "How did you plan to get out of here?"  
  
"I've got it covered," he said. Somehow, that didn't seem to make me many more comfortable. I would rather die than let those who were around me die.  
  
Much to my extreme surprise, I heard a slight rustle behind me and an invisibility cloak was thrown off to reveal Sirius Black underneath. Harry and everyone else looked back at him. "Sirius!" Harry yelled.  
  
"I wasn't about to let you go alone," he replied.  
  
"Sirius Black," Voldemort uttered. "So nice of you to join us." He raised his wand and after a spell, Sirius was propelled several yards away. Then I was pulled away as well and I saw Voldemort raise his hands over his head. I heard a cracking noise and then a ring of wooden poles shot out of the ground around each of us; Sirius, myself, and the other four in three different "cages".  
  
"I'll kill you," Samantha said.  
  
"Leave them alone!" I yelled out, suddenly realizing that it was stupid.  
  
"No," Voldemort said, not really listening to me. At that point, we heard a popping sound and a boy about Harry's age appeared in the cemetery. I recognized him at once to be Draco Malfoy. "Draco," Voldemort said when he saw him.  
  
"Yes, master?" Draco said and I would have laughed had the situations been different.  
  
"Could you have come at a more inopportune time?" the Dark Lord asked, frustrated. He looked around at all of us and then told him, "Well, if you're here, you may as well make yourself useful." Draco asked what he was supposed and Voldemort replied, "For starters, you could try disposing of our friend...Allemist, did you say?" He said the last to Harry.  
  
I could tell Harry wasn't about to correct him, but Hermione was. "It's Amethyst!" she said, realizing that she shouldn't have done so after the fact.  
  
"Thank you," Voldemort replied. "Draco? You have been practicing the curse, haven't you?"  
  
Draco mumbled something which was a sure clue that he hadn't. "I would have gotten caught."  
  
"You git, that's where your father comes in. You have nothing in your thick head!" He sighed. "Must I do everything myself?"  
  
"I'm sorry, my Lord," Draco whimpered.  
  
"Well, I suppose you can get some practice on our friend Amethyst, since you were too stupid not to earlier." He looked over at me and smiled again.  
  
I looked over and saw Draco draw his wand. He had a look on his face that seemed as if he had wanted to hurt me, but wasn't sure if he wanted to kill me. I looked over at Sirius who probably would have growled if he was in his animal form. Ron was now yelling at Voldemort while Hermione was trying to say something about a teacher telling them that the Avada Kadavra curse wouldn't work. Harry looked over at me with a sad look on his face. I didn't want to say something that Voldemort could hear and so I mouthed the words I wanted to say and hoped he would understand them: "I'm still alive."  
  
I looked Draco in the eyes, wondering if my glare people always shied away from would faze him. As a matter of fact, it worked, but he closed his eyes as he pointed his wand in my direction. "Aim, idiot," Voldemort chided. Draco opened his eyes, but tried not looking directly at me.  
  
I suddenly saw him look directly at me, but his eyes looked from me to my right. I caught the hint and saw Sirius holding out his wand. I looked back at Draco and saw him wink. I only hoped that Sirius had performed some controlling curse and it wasn't someone else. I saw Draco raise his wand and as loud as he could, he yelled out, "Avada Kadavra!"  
  
Just as before, I saw a flash of green light and then I slipped back into unconsciousness. The last thing I heard, Ron and Harry seemed to be throwing themselves against their trap, but I wasn't sure.  
  
When I woke up again, I was flying very fast, someone's hand gripping my wrist tightly. I didn't have any clue on what was going on, but I fell asleep again.  
  
I smelled something under my nose before someone tried to shove a potion into my mouth. Before they could do it, though, I sat up and said, "I'm awake!"  
  
"Amethyst!" Harry said.  
  
I looked around and saw Harry, Samantha, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, and Dumbledore standing over me. "How did you guys get out?" I asked, remembering what had just happened.  
  
"Don't trouble yourself with it right now," Dumbledore said. "You need to rest right now."  
  
Sirius had something to say, though. "I wasn't sure exactly what I was doing when I cast that curse on you. Harry had told me that Voldemort used the killing curse on you, but since you were alive, I wondered if it would work again. It distracted Voldemort for a time."  
  
Ron bolted into Sirius's conversation. "He started asking Draco if he was lying and Draco nearly wet himself! That gave Hermione time to get the portkey, but since Sirius couldn't reach us and you couldn't either, we had to-"  
  
"Ron..." Dumbledore said. Ron was quiet after that. He then turned back to me, but was interrupted when Samantha jumped towards the door and pulled back in a struggling Draco Malfoy. When Draco saw Dumbledore, all of the color drained from his face and he started to whimper. Dumbledore turned to Sirius and asked if he could go down to Snape's room and bring back a memory potion.  
  
While Sirius walked out, I sat up carefully. It seemed to me as if all my muscles had decided to tighten and so I found it a little difficult. I looked down and noticed that my robes had dirt aplenty on them and there were rips in some places. "Could I please have a moment to back to my room and change, Professor?" I asked Dumbledore.  
  
"Certainly," he replied.  
  
Hermione asked if she could come along and I was glad that she offered. I didn't feel very stable right then. We walked up to the Ravenclaw common room and when I walked into the common room, the room was empty. We then walked into the girls dormitory and over to my conch shell. I entered it but at that point, I realized that I didn't have my amethyst with me. "CRAP!" I yelled. There was no hole or anything to crawl out of and so I couldn't just step on anything and crawl out. I yelled at the top of my lungs, "HERMIONE!"  
  
I hoped she heard me, but when I didn't hear anything coming from outside of my shell, I yelled again. At that, Hermione whispered, "Amethyst? Are you alright in there?"  
  
"GET DUMBLEDORE! I CAN'T GET OUT WITHOUT MY AMETHYST!" I really hoped she could understand what I was trying to say.  
  
"What?" she asked, clearly not hearing me entirely.  
  
"I'M -- STUCK!!!"  
  
"Oh!" she said, surprised. "I'll be right back." I heard her footsteps as she walked away and felt them through my floor. I waited, hoping that she'd heard me correctly and didn't come back without Professor Dumbledore.  
  
I judged it was about 10 minutes later when she did return. I heard other people coming in and wondered who all had come to my aid. "Amethyst?" I heard Dumbledore say.  
  
"I'M IN HERE!" I heard Samantha tell Dumbledore that I told her that if she touched the shell, she'd be sucked in and wouldn't be able to get out, and I was kind of glad she did. "PROFESSOR!" I yelled.  
  
I thought I felt something shake the shell and then Dumbledore replied. "What did you say?"  
  
"VOLDEMORT TOOK MY AMETHYST AND SO I CAN'T GET OUT!"  
  
"How did you get in there?" he asked.  
  
"YOU TOUCH THE SHELL AND IMAGINE YOURSELF IN IT! I NEED MY AMETHYST TO GET OUT!"  
  
"Alright, Amethyst. Just wait there." Not knowing what he was going to do, I stood up against a wall. The next thing I knew, Professor Dumbledore was standing inside the shell with me.  
  
Since he was in here, I didn't have to shout. "I use my amethyst to get out and to make my dresser and bed appear. Since I don't have that, I can't do anything!"  
  
"Don't worry," he said. I felt really dumb standing there. I should have realized I couldn't do anything before I ventured out of the room I'd been in before. I saw Dumbledore raise his wand and cast a spell that propelled me out of the shell and back into the Ravenclaw dormitory. Then I saw Dumbledore appear and my cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment.  
  
"Um...Thank you Professor Dumbledore," I said, totally embarrassed. My embarrassment soon turned to questioning. Now that I thought of it, what would I do now that my amethyst was gone. I wouldn't be able to take Transfiguration, which was my favorite class, or Defense Against the Dark Arts. I guess it could have been worse because my other classes didn't require a wand. It still vexed me, though.  
  
"I suppose we'll have to find you something else to wear and somewhere else to sleep," Dumbledore replied.  
  
"I'm sure some of the teachers are around her height and would be willing to loan her something," Hermione mentioned. "I would, but I'm not tall enough. She could also sleep in our dormitory. I wouldn't mind giving up my bed for a night or two."  
  
Somehow, Hermione didn't look like a person who'd enjoy sleeping on the floor. "I could sleep on the floor if you'd like, Hermione." Hermione wasn't quite sure if she should say yes or no. "Oh!...Well, if you want to, then...."  
  
"Now that that's settled," Sirius said, "we really should be going to bed. It's going to be a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Dumbledore agreed and we went out of the common room, me carrying the box with my conch shell with me.  
  
As we were walking out from behind the picture frame, several students came walking back to class. Seeing all of us in a disheveled manner, some gasped. I had a feeling that I would be hearing my friend's names quite often tomorrow. For a moment, I considered not going to my classes, wondering what good it would do since I had both Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts that day.  
  
On our way back to the dormitory, we passed other kids who gawked and stared at us. It probably wasn't very often a tall student wearing tattered, dirty robes went parading around the hallways. I ignored them all and when we made it to the picture of the Fat Lady, we went through and Dumbledore left with Sirius. The Professor said that he'd have a sleeping bag sent up as well as some fresh robes.  
  
The moment we entered the common room, people came over to us, asking us questions about where we'd been and what we'd been doing and if You-Know- Who had tried to kill Harry again. Samantha had started to tell what had happened, but I nudged her in the shoulder and she stopped, rather reluctantly, I might add.  
  
The Weasley twins were busy trying to get Ron into telling them what had happened, asking him if totally incorrect things had occurred. Ron didn't say anything and tried to push through them, but they didn't want to give in. I wasn't in the mood for this and so I yelled out, "Shutup, everyone!"  
  
When I had everyone's attention, I told them, "Harry, Ron, Hermione, Samantha, and I are very tired. We would like to ask that you leave your questions for later." Then I added, "On another note, what occurred today is none of your business for the time being. Should Dumbledore say it is okay, we will tell you, but I would appreciate it if you do not ask.... A lot of it wouldn't make sense, anyway."  
  
I saw the kids look somewhat disappointed, but they turned away and went back to their normal conversations. I looked at my group and nodded towards the dormitory doors. We went off our separate ways and when me, Hermione, and Samantha were in the girls' dormitory, I found that a sleeping bag and a robe had been set next to Hermione's bed. Immediately, I rolled out the sleeping bag near one of the walls and after someone handed me a pillow, I fell asleep almost immediately.  
  
I woke up the next day with a nasty crick in my neck. I didn't think it was anything serious and got up. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I realized everyone else in the dorm was gone and it was just me, Hermione, and Samantha in the room. Wondering what time it was, I got up and looked out the window. I was relieved to see that it wasn't too late and I went to wake up my friends.  
  
Neither of them wanted to get up, but I told them that we were late for our classes and Hermione shot out of her bed like a bullet. I noticed she hadn't changed before she was in bed and so she slipped a clean robe over her head. I did the same and Samantha grudgingly decided to pull on some fresh clothes as well. Frankly, I didn't blame her.  
  
The three of us started running to our classroom when we came across this annoying little cat known as Ms. Norris. Only a few seconds later, Professor Filch came out of a room and saw us. "Ha!" he yelled as if he'd just won some grand prize. "So, you decided to skip class today?"  
  
"You know," Samantha said, annoyed, "why don't you just-" I pulled on her shirt hard enough that she had to step back a couple inches. She looked almost as if she wanted to tear off the teacher's head and I wasn't about to let that happen.  
  
"Professor Filch," I said, not in the mood, but deciding not to get angry, "If you are suggesting that we do not have a viable excuse for being out at this time, I would suggest that you talk to Professor Dumbledore." It was then that Harry and Ron came up behind us, a look of annoyance on their faces upon seeing Filch.  
  
"You may not be 15, Miss, but as long as you're going to this school, you will abide by the rules. Got it?"  
  
I swallowed the words I wanted to say and said, "Excuse me, Professor." I walked past him with the others behind me, dearly wanting to step on Ms. Norris's tail. She hissed as we walked by, and I hissed back, venting. I heard Ron, Harry, and Samantha snicker, and saw an amused look on Hermione's face. "Let's just get to class," I said.  
  
As it turned out, we had Charms class then, another one I couldn't do thanks to the absence of my gem. When Professor Flitwick saw us enter, he gave us a look of questioning. "So, you decided to be late?"  
  
"Talk to Dumbledore," Ron said as we sat down in our spots. Flitwick's lips tightened, but when he heard the name "Dumbledore", he didn't say anything else.  
  
Unfortunately, we also had this class with Slytherins which didn't help at all. The strange thing was, though, that Draco Malfoy was not there. The thought of that didn't reassure me much.  
  
Today, we learned about turning objects different colors which was no fun for me or Samantha, for that matter. I don't know why she was put in that class. All I know was that I nearly fell asleep with my hand on a rock when Hermione prodded me with her wand. I sat up straighter and pulled my hand off of the rock. I gasped at what I saw.  
  
Lying under my hand where the rock had been was my amethyst! I knew it was mine because it was the same size, shape, and of course, color, that mine was. When Professor Flitwick asked me why I'd gasped, I smiled and told him nothing. Harry and Hermione looked over at me and I held up my amethyst so that only they could see it. Their eyes went wider, but I put a finger to my lips so that they wouldn't say anything.  
  
The rest of the day went smoothly after that. Samantha asked me how I'd found it and I told her that I had no idea, which was the truth. I thought about telling Dumbledore, but I wasn't sure if he'd start asking a bunch of questions, so I decided to go to someone else. So during dinner, I went up to the staff's table and asked Dumbledore if he knew where Sirius was.  
  
He told me that Sirius was away somewhere, though he wouldn't tell me where. He asked me why and so I decided to tell him. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the gem. He looked at it speculatively and inquired where it came from. Upon saying that I didn't know, he asked if he could hang on to it for a time. He said that he needed to check it for any hexes that might be on it. I agreed and returned to the Gryffindor table.  
  
"What'd he say?" Harry asked me when I sat down again.  
  
"He said he needed to check it for a hex. Considering that Lord...." I realized that others were listening and decided to keep it between the two of us. I lowered my voice as I said, "Considering that Voldemort had it, I don't blame him."  
  
I spent the next day hoping that nothing would turn up to be wrong. I had Care of Magical Creatures and things seemed to be sort of going back to normal. Hagrid obviously hadn't been told, but I was sure he'd find out if Dumbledore told him; I'm sure he would because Hagrid wasn't one to blurt out stuff like that in public.  
  
We had History of Magic after that and Samantha and I poked jokes every once in a while, as we usually did. The teacher usually didn't pay too much attention since we didn't do it too often. I copied notes to keep my mind off of my gem, but more than once I yawned, caused by a chain reaction of other yawns that had been triggered.  
  
We had lunch and then Harry, Ron, and Samantha went off to their Divinity class while Hermione headed for Arithmancy. She'd let me borrow some of her seemingly endless supply of quills, ink, and paper and so I decided to just write. It wasn't really anything in particular, but it kept me busy while everyone was in class. I decided to write a letter to someone and chose to write to Hagrid. I told him how I was doing and included some stuff about how my life was on Diagon Alley. I suppose we were a little bit alike, him being expelled and his wand broken, while I was "sent away" and my wand was torched by some Slytherins. I'd forgiven them by that time, but if I ever caught them one day, I'd personally remind them that I was still alive.  
  
After that was done, I just sat there, thinking. One of the first things that came to my mind was the question of how the amethyst got to the school. I remembered sitting in the class...and then I started to doze off. Harry had poked me with his wand and then the gem was there. I tried to recall what I was thinking during that time, but I couldn't seem to recall.  
  
The next question that I pondered was how Voldemort was able to get to Hogwarts without anyone knowing. I remembered from what Hermione had said (very enthusiastically, I might add) about people being unable to apparate on the school grounds. Knowing Voldemort was a Dark Wizard, I wondered if he found some way around that, but I doubted it. He could have come in through the forest, which would have been the most probably way and he'd be least likely to be seen.  
  
I wrote some more stuff and then the students came back to the dormitory. Hermione was laden down with homework and Samantha had a few assignments as well, I could tell. Neither of them seemed too ill humored about it, but of course, Hermione was never unhappy about another assignment and Samantha looked as if she'd just blow through it, making up answers as she went along. Harry had told me that he and Ron would often come up with as many possible tragedies that they could and that the Professor -- Trewlaney, I think it was -- would seem pleased with it. She still gave me the creeps.  
  
We all went down to dinner and when we sat down, the food appeared on the table as always. As I reached to grab a piece of bread, I heard a slight popping sound and my amethyst appeared in my lap. I looked down and gasped.  
  
"What is it" Ron asked.  
  
I held up the amethyst. "I guess it's okay, then!" I smiled as I placed it in one of my pockets, glad I would be able to use it soon. I looked up at the teachers's table and saw Professor McGonagall nod at me before returning to her eating.  
  
"The same thing happened when I got my broom," Harry said. "The teachers made quite a fuss about it, not knowing who had sent it."  
  
"Who gave it to you?"  
  
"Sirius. He's my godfather, after all!" He smiled, an almost proud look on his face.  
  
"Cool," I replied. I guess you learn something new every day.  
  
"What's a Firebolt?" Samantha asked. When she was told it was a broom, she looked over at the Weasley Twins. "Fred, George!"  
  
"Yesssss?" they asked at the same time.  
  
"When the @#$% are you going to tell me how to use a broom?" I'd grown accustomed to her language now, so it didn't bother me quite so much.  
  
"After dinner, if you'd like," one of them said.  
  
"Nah," Samantha said. "How about tomorrow afternoon? It's Saturday anyways."  
  
They all agreed, but after dinner, we all went down to the broom shed and Harry showed her the different kinds of brooms that were in there. Ron talked and talked about some of the Quidditch matches he'd seen and he and Harry told her about the qualities of the different brooms, ranging from the Clean Sweep Five, to the Nimbus Two-Thousand, to Harry's own Firebolt. I'd seen them in a store on Diagon Alley, but I'd never seen one ridden before. Samantha didn't seem too impressed though. I guessed that all she saw was a bunch of things to clean the floor with.  
  
We then walked back to the Gryffindor dormitory and after a brief chat with some of the kids in the common room, I went to bed, my amethyst tucked in my hand under my pillow.  
  
The next several weeks went by smoothly. I was back to doing as well as I had been in all my classes. Me and the others had managed to keep what had happened a secret somehow, except from the Weasley twins. They always seemed to have a way of finding out anything, but the 5 of us managed to swear them into secrecy...with a little help from Hermione and her wand.  
  
Sure enough, though, with Harry Potter always seemed to come trouble of some sort or another. What happened this next time was astonishing, though. Me, Samantha, and Harry were out walking around when we heard this roaring noise off in the distance. When it kept getting closer, we thought about running to Hagrid to see if he knew what it was, but by the time we started running towards his cabin, it was already here.  
  
Up in the sky came a dragon that Harry soon identified as a Norwegian Ridgeback. He'd told us before about the Triwizard contest the past year and his experience, but I didn't really bother to think of that right now. "What's a dragon doing in England?" I asked with a fair share of fear.  
  
"Don't ask me," Harry replied.  
  
Before we could do much of anything, the dragon saw us and started coming closer. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of anything around and so all we could do was run as fast as we can. "Split up!" Samantha said as we dashed around. We all went different directions but before long, the dragon made a dive for her. She ducked barely in time.  
  
"Follow me!" I yelled as she was getting up. The three of us ran into the forest even though I knew it wouldn't do much good. Once in there, I saw a figure on a broomstick flying towards us and the dragon. I wasn't sure who it was exactly, but I could almost recognize it to be a Weasley from the bright red hair. It couldn't have been Ron or the twins, though, because the person looked taller and several years older.  
  
The person on the broom flied closer and pulled out a wand. "That's Charlie!" Harry said, quietly but excited.  
  
"Who's that?" I asked.  
  
"One of Ron's older brothers. The last time I heard, he was in Egypt studying dragons. I don't know why he's here, though!"  
  
When I glanced over, I saw that Samantha didn't seem to be taking her eyes off of the figure on the broom. She almost seemed to be looking at him with a sense of admiration, but I didn't take much notice. The dragon's focus was still on us until Charlie cast a spell that sent a shower of sparks at the dragon's head. He had to do it again before the dragon focused on him.  
  
Charlie now had to carefully maneuver his broom around so as to stay away from its claws and its head. More than once the Horntail blew a fiery breath from its mouth, narrowly missing him. I wondered from behind a tree why Charlie wasn't with anyone else. From what I'd heard, it took several trained wizards to even stun one.  
  
It was at that point Charlie backed up into a tree. From the looks of it, his broom was lodged in-between a couple branches and he was having trouble getting it out. The dragon took that time to take its arms and knock the tree over. Charlie yelled as the tree went down and he clung to one of the thick branches as tight as he could.  
  
When the tree was on the ground, its roots sticking out of the ground, the dragon prepared to eat him. Before it could, I heard from right next to me, a sound that was a half-hiss, half-roaring sound. Thinking that it was another dragon that I hadn't noticed I looked over, but only to see Samantha yelling at it. It shocked me into complete silence and I could see Harry was surprised by it.  
  
I saw the dragon turn its ugly head and looked at her with a glare in its eyes.  
  
The two of them started conversing again, the dragon showing signs of agitation, though how could it not? Wondering what they were saying, I got the idea to pull another hair out of Samantha's head. She hardly seemed to notice, and when I put it in my mouth I changed into her almost instantly. I saw Harry looking at me and Samantha, equally confused, but then I heard what his sister was saying.  
  
Luckily I was mostly out of sight from the dragon and so it couldn't focus on me. Samantha was telling the dragon not to eat Charlie and the Horntail was trying to find out why. "Because he's a human!" Samantha said.  
  
"And?" I heard it say.  
  
"Because if you touch him, I'll come over there and bust your fire breathing jaw in half!" I wondered where Samantha learned to negotiate. I just hoped she didn't go over the edge or else I would have quite a bit of explaining to do with Professor Dumbledore.  
  
Somehow, the dragon decided to back down. "Who are you, human?" it asked.  
  
"Samantha," she replied.  
  
"Well, young human, I will leave you to your other humans." Without another word, it leapt back into the sky and began to fly away. I took the hair out of my mouth, instantly changing back to myself, which I still couldn't explain, but oh well.  
  
I looked over to see Samantha staring off at it in admiration, and when it was far enough away that we dared to speak again, Harry said, "That was strange."  
  
"Quite a conversation you had, Samantha," I commented.  
  
"You could hear what I was saying?" she replied, still somewhat miffed about the dragon trying to eat Charlie.  
  
"Well, I only have the ability to turn into you." I smiled. "I'm just glad that it didn't get any closer or there'd be a lot of explaining to do."  
  
"Just what the **** are you doing out here?" I heard Charlie ask. When I looked in his direction, he was brushing off his black robes and walking over to us. His language seemed to resemble Samantha's somewhat (who was still staring at him). When he came close enough to see Harry, his eyes went wide and he ran the rest of the way over to us. "Harry!!!" he yelled. "What on earth were you thinking?!?"  
  
Harry looked somewhat confused as he replied. "We were just walking out here when we heard the Hungarian Horntail coming in our direction."  
  
Charlie's face turned red in frustration, as if he thought that Harry had known the dragon was out here and deliberately refused to go back into the castle. Then he noticed Samantha (who was still staring at him) and said, "Who is this?" Before Harry could respond, though, Charlie cut him off. "You could have gotten her killed had that dragon not flown off!"  
  
Samantha's expression changed and she cast aside the look of what I thought was admiration, but I could have been mistaken. "I'm his sister, Charlie Weasley."  
  
Charlie finally took a good look at Samantha and he cleared his throat, his anger suddenly vanishing. "Harry's...sister? How did you know what my name is?"  
  
"Yes, I'm Harry's sister. It's a long story, but that doesn't matter. Your little brother, the red headed one, told me your name while you were flying on your @)#* broomstick. He's over there somewhere, I think," she said as she waved her hand over towards the nearby bushes on her right.  
  
"RON?" Charlie called out.  
  
Ron slowly rose up from his hiding place and looked around cautiously. "Over here," he said, his voice shaking.  
  
"Don't worry, Ron," I replied, finally showing myself. "The Horntail's gone."  
  
Charlie looked over at me precariously. "And who do you think you are?"  
  
"For your information," I replied, "my name is Amethyst and Professor Dumbledore specifically asked me to come to Hogwarts several weeks ago."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"That's Dumbledore's business to share...but thanks for coming along."  
  
Charlie mouthed something that looked like "whatever" and then turned back to Samantha. "How are you related to Harry?" he asked in a milder tone.  
  
I saw Samantha smile slightly and briefly before she replied. "It's a long story...I'll tell you later if you're up to it."  
  
Charlie smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "We'll see...what was your name again?"  
  
Speaking slowly and deliberately, she replied, "Samantha...Potter."  
  
  
  
Once safely back on the castle, we headed back to the Dining Hall for lunch. Once again, I somehow managed to change back into myself almost instantaneously, but I didn't care. I was a bit shaken and I ate really because that was what we were supposed to do, but I think it was good if I remember correctly. 


End file.
